Cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. To diminish that burden, the hope is that basic and translational research in cardiology will lead to new preventive and treatment strategies. This is a competitive renewal of a research training program to develop a cadre of cardiovascular physician-scientists and scientists, who are skilled in molecular and cellular biology and committed to long-term careers in cardiovascular investigation. These investigators will be in a unique position to take advantage of the most modern molecular approaches and to lead academic cardiology into new frontiers in the understanding of the cardiovascular system and the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Priority for post-doctoral positions among physician-scientists will be given to those who are in clinical cardiology fellowships at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) and who agree to spend a minimum of three years of full-time work in the laboratory (optimally 4-5 years). For Ph.D. post-doctoral fellows, preference will be given to those candidates who have outstanding research track records and a demonstrated commitment to cardiovascular research. The goal is to prepare all trainees to establish an independent laboratory at the end of the training period. The faculty of the training program represents a balance between highly collaborative senior scientists with established track records in cardiovascular research and in post-doctoral training, and more junior investigators recruited as part of a major institution- wide expansion of the basic sciences. Research training will focus on six thematic categories central to translational cardiovascular disease research: vascular biology (atherosclerosis and thrombosis), heart failure and electrophysiology, genetics and development, metabolic diseases and diabetes, stem cell and gene therapies, and molecular imaging. In addition to laboratory research, post-doctoral trainees will participate in a weekly cardiovascular research seminar and a scientific writing and presentation course through the Graduate School. Depending on previous academic experience, trainees may also participate in the Graduate School Core Curriculum and relevant activities of the Mechanisms of Disease and Therapy graduate program. This program consists of lectures, journal clubs and problem-solving conferences. A committee comprised of the preceptor, the program director and two members of the program faculty will monitor trainee progress. Programmatic progress will be monitored by internal and external committees using trainee progress and feedback, recruitment success, and career paths of former trainees as benchmarks.